Marine Protection

The outgoing President’s recognition of the importance of nature

In his last months in office, Barack Obama created the largest protected area of ocean anywhere on Earth — a half-million-square-mile arc of remote Pacific waters known for both exceptional marine life and importance to native Hawaiian culture.

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument’s expansion marks a positive step forward for sustainability, and will allow further preservation of the wildlife – a quarter of which are found nowhere else on earth – like the Laysan albatross pictured.